Former coach arrested 3 times; now in jail

Why is a pedophile not locked up? WATE is reporting about a former coach who seems to have been arrested for the third time - since December 2011!  The article says that he has been accused of inappropriate relations with players and for violating an order of protection - twice. The latest arrest stems from an appearance that he made at the workplace of one of his former players.

This guy is a former teacher. One might suppose that if he has the brains to get a college degree, he is smart enough to comprehend the meaning of the word 'no'. As in:

No, it is not appropriate to even think about having inappropriate relations with kids.
No, it is not okay to violate an order of protection.

Injustices done to kids like this make me want to scream. Fortunately, the scumbag is now in custody and awaiting to appear in court, again.

Titanium jewelry and cookware demonstrations

My daughter and her fiancee attended a cookware demonstration recently. They registered for prizes at bridal show. This 'prize' came with the catch of seeing the the demo. Engaged couples were encouraged to bring parents so Hubby and I did our duty. Couples could choose from two gifts. My daughter and her fiance chose a set of black titanium rings.

Until then, I wasn't sure what titanium is. To me, titanium really is one of those science-fiction turned to reality types of metals. I had heard about it so I decided to go online and to see what else I could find out about it. The first thing that I learned is how versatile it is. Jewelry items include titanium bracelets, necklaces, crosses, chains, pendant and just about any other jewelry piece that you can think of.

This cutting edge metal is available in a variety of different grades. Some of the grades that are used to make jewelry items are:

• Aircraft grade titanium alloy
• Extra-hard titanium
• Commercially Pure Titanium

I was also pleased to find out that the rings can be inlaid with the gold, silver or other metals. This gives the pieces an interesting look. 

Titanium is being seen as an alternative to the traditional gold or white gold wedding ring sets and are reputed to be more durable. Basically, this means that the rings my daughter and her beau won should last for a few generations. 

My daughter decided not to purchase the cookware set. But, she liked the rings well enough to keep them. Which, if you ask me, is pretty cool.

A little more about the arthritic stenosis

Well, I had the MRI done at UT. It pretty much confirmed what we already know and there were no surprises. The diagnosis of arthritic stenosis stands. At least it explains why my legs wouldn't work. There's a lot of information about it on the internet. I'll find out more from the docs in a couple of weeks. The number of people who have reached out has been helpful. Here are some of the more helpful websites that I've found so far.

National Institute of Health
This site has good information and a diagram to follow. It  covers who gets it and what some of the causes are. Injuries are one of the causes and other causes are also listed.

Spinal Stenosis.org
This blog has been helpful to understand more about the disease. Reading the blog opened me eyes to the fact that stenosis can occur in children. There seems to be some good background included on the blog.

Generally, information from the doctors and a little research lead to empowerment. I don't know where this is all going to lead but we'll see. It'll be one day at a time but I'm going to do my best to not let it slow me down.  :-)

SC Conference UMW Legislative Action Event

Good news for my friends in South Carolina! I'll be coming to Columbia to deliver the keynote address at a conference for the SC United Methodist Women. Legislative Action Day will be February 21, 2012. We've got the full details at Hope for Healing.Org. Just email us at hello@hopeforhealing.org so we can forward the flyer to you.

If you would like to get together, but cannot make the Legislative Action Day event, let us know. We can try to arrange something at a local restaurant, hotel or other venue. This would just be a short, informal time to get acquainted.

Kudos to the United Methodist Women of the South Carolina for tackling the harsher realities that are faced by too many women and children. It is a privilege to be invited to participate in the Legislative Action Day and I very much look forward to meeting you.

Speaking on Sunday

What a good way to begin a New Year. I have been invited to speak to a Sunday School class at Wesleyanna UMC and am very much looking forward to it. This group has been kind enough to work with me through the health challenges that I have had of late. Their support has been appreciated. It should all shape up to be a good morning.

We have been busy as an organization. Earlier this month, I wrote a series of articles for the Hope Blog of our organization. The posts covered 12 ways to deal with stress at Christmas and a different topic was covered over each of the 12 days. Page views indicate that the articles were well received.

Survivors of sexual and domestic violence have more to deal with than non-survivors in almost every aspect of life. I'm glad for the opportunities that we have to reach out through the internet and by talking with groups. It means a lot to me to be able to do this. 

Helping a group better understand the dynamics of domestic violence is, to me, the perfect way to begin a new year. Hopefully, 2012 will be one of less violence and more compassion for us all.